Publicity apparatus.



M. PUISSANT.

PUBLICITY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJ, l9l4.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

. Mar/e Pal/3500f: Fer 4M9 lmenfor.

PUBLICITY APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

Application filed August 1, 1914. SerialNo. 854,462. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARIE PUIssAN'r, a citizen of France, residing at Rue de lOrme at St.-Gratien, near Paris, Seine et Oise, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Publicity Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same. a

My invention relates particularly to advertising mediums of the type which are suitable for use during the day as well as at night. i w v 7 p The invention may be said briefly to con sist of a series of ribbons arranged side by side and bearing advertising matter, means preventing; oblique winding of the ribbons and means for operating each ribbon inclependently of the other ribbons for the purposes of enabling such ribbonto coact with the other ribbons in the composition of an advertisement; and the particular construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims. For full comprehension,however, of my'invention reference must be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate the same parts, and wherein:

Figure l is a front elevation of an advertisement frame built according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on a larger scale taken on lines 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a back view of the front part of the frame;

Fig. 4.- is a detail bottom plan, view of a pair of rollers and the means for rotatably mounting the same;

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of one of the rollers; 4

Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the friction rings adapted to be inserted between the ends of each roller and the adjacent bracket;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the means for detachably fastening the end of each ribbon upon its respective roller;

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a unitary advertising device constructed according to my invention, Fig. 8 being a front elevation and Fig. 9 a sectional View;

Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the means illustrated in Fig. 7. I

The casing of my improved device consists of two sheet-metal members A A of similar cross-section hingedly connected at their lower side-edges as at c and detachably connected at their opposite side edges by a catch d or any other suitable means, such casing members presenting tubular portions a and a. and the portion of each member intermediate of these tubular portions being offset outwardly as at a to accommodate preferably two parallel lengths of plate glass 7) extending through the length of the casing and being retained in place by comparatively small turned-in flanges at each end thereof. The lengths of glass are spaced slightly apart to receive the advertisement bearing ribbons to be hereinafter further alluded to, and which are adapted to be independently fed therebetween. If desired the glass may be placed outside of the casing and any other translucent or transparent material may be substituted therefor. This particular arrangement'owing to the small space between the glass plates and the flat contiguous surface thereof, prevents wrinkling of the ribbons; while the relative spacing of the ribbons close to each other affords ample scope for the arrangement of the letters or characters in proper position relatively to each other. o

Other advantageous features of this device are that the specific construction of the casing prevents dust working its way into the interior, and makes the sign particularly adaptable for use at night as no parts ofthe mechanism intercept the rays of light from the lighting source and consequently no shadows are cast on the lettering as is so frequently experienced in internally illuminated signs.

Each-offset a? is provided with a plurality of apertures or windows of preferably rectangular form and equal in number to the maximum number of letters or characters to be employed, the various strips separating each aperture from the adjoining apertures merely serving to frame the letters or characters composing the advertisement and to on rollers 7c located in the tubular portions of the casing members. These ribbons or bands are all located in the same vertical plane and pass between the lengths of glass 7) opposite their respective apertures and each is operated independently of the other for the purpose of bringing any desired letter or character opposite its respective aperture. lChe rollers 70 are divided into two spaced. and opposite series each correspmiding pair of rollers having one of the ribbons wound thereon.

Each roller is constituted by a tube, one end of which has attached thereto a wheel 71) of comparatively large diameter having annulled edge to facilitate rotation thereof, the lengthof each tube being equal to the width of each ribbon which is connectet thereto. In order to rotate the rollers without disturbing the casmg members, the easmg member A. is provided with a series of t' t l 'lll l l t1 1 sio s opposi e me 1111 ec iee s nou i which access may be had thereto.

Up to the present time considerable di'l'ficulty has been experienced in signs of this type from the fact that the ribbons have had a tendency to wind obliquely to the normal direction of travel which consequently marred the artistic appearance of the advertisement. In order to overcome this defect in the present construction each series of rolls is mounted upon a rod 9 ex tending through the length of the casing and journaled in a series of brackets h spaced uniformly apart and secured to the casing member A in the tubular portions thereof. displacement of the rods being prevented by nuts 2' on the ends thereof. The brackets 71 are spaced just far enough apart to accommodate the rollers 76, a small friction ring consisting of a split metallic washer, one end of which is turned down on the side to form a spring (see Fig. 6), being inserted between each milled wheel and the flange of the bracket immediately adjoining to prevent the rollers unwinding under the tension of the ribbons which would have the undesirable effect of disarranging the letters or characters from their proper respective positions after having been arranged. This particular construction provides a space between the flange of the bracket at the end of the roller opposite to the milled wheel and the wheel itself which is equal to the width of each ribbon so that it is impossible for the ribbon to wind obliquely as the flange acts as a guide on one side and the milled wheel on the other. 7

When the ribbonbecomes worn it is de sirable to substitute a new ribbon without dismantling the other ribbons, to this end each ribbon is detachably mounted on a pair of the rollers by winding its ends once or twice around the same and embracing the whole by an elastic metal piece of open tubular cross-section.

The casing may be provided with sus' pension hooks c or any other suitable means for mounting the same in place and may be adorned with various ornaments to add to the attractiveness of the advertisement.

in order to change an advertisement the rollers 7a are rotated by means of the milled wheels in access to which is obtained through the slots in the casing members. \V hen the required letter on one ribbon appears opposite its respective aperture the adjoining ribbon operated and soon until the composition of the advertisement is complete. lVhenever the mechanism gets out of order the front of the casing A is swung open exposing all the parts to view and enabling the operator to see at a glance where the trouble is located.

If desired my improved advertising medium may comprise a number of lines located one above the other which vary in length or height to meet different require ments, the general arrangement in each case, however being the same.

If desired the ribbons may be mounted upon a lamp bracket in which case the ends of the casing would be turned in and the upper side edge thereof provided with a rearward extension thus presenting an inclosure for the light, the rearward extension also serving as a reflector plate.

lVhat I claim is as follows:

An advertising medium consisting of a pair of rectangular casing members hingcdly connected at their lowerside edges and detachably connected at their opposite side edges said casing members presenting a tubular portion in close proximity to each edge thereof extending throughout the length of the same, rollers mounted in each of said tubular portions, each of Said members being oflset outwardly and having apertures therein, a pair of lengths of plate glass mounted within said offset portions. a ribbon bearing advertising matter and having its opposite ends detachably mounted upon said rollers, means for rotating each of said rollers said means consisting of a wheel rigidly mounted upon one end of said rollers and having a milled edge and a slot in one of said casing members adjacent each wheel for permitting access thereto.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presenceof two witnesses.

MARIE PUISSANT. \Vitnesses LnvYE RAINAUL, DE VVITT C. PooL, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. er 

